Let’s say you were granted three wishes ... would you use one of them on ‘world peace’? If somehow I was given three wishes, I think I’d use my first one to obtain a million more wishes. And then I guess the idealist in me would say ‘Yes’ to world peace. But as it turns out, I’m afraid I’m stuck being a realist. Now don’t get me wrong, I would still love to live in a land where there’s world peace.

Are you a “people” person? No, not that kind. I mean ... are you a person who focuses a lot of time and energy on finding good people and helping them succeed? Basically, are you a good talent scout? In January, FOX began its 10th season of American Idol. Each week, the goal of the show is to find the nation’s next singing sensation. With the help of viewers across the country, a panel of industry insiders will use their eye for finding talent in order to sort through thousands of young, aspiring superstars.

Chances are, you attended at least one seminar this past year where one of the speakers gave advice on how to improve your business management skills. It always seems that these “experts” essentially say the same thing ... analyze this, analyze that; do this, don’t do that. And although many times we don’t actually implement all of this “common sense” advice, the truth is they’re usually right. And at the risk of trying to impersonate someone who professes to know what he’s talking about, when was the last time you did a SWOT analysis of your business? Basically, what are your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats?

When you need to hire a new employee, what are some of the traits you look for in an applicant? How about when a position opens up and you’re planning to promote someone from within your team? If you were asked to answer those two questions at a seminar with a room full of managers, I’m sure the group would come up with a pretty long list of characteristics. Actually, it would probably be so extensive, you might decide not to hire or promote anyone until the perfect candidate comes along! But most of the time when someone chooses to quit, you need to hire their replacement as soon as possible. And unfortunately, out of desperation, you’re probably even tempted to hire the next person available.

For anyone who grew up in a small town, I’m sure you will probably agree that “everyone knowing you” is both a blessing and a curse. Unfortunately, our parents somehow already knew about the shenanigans we pulled before we even got home. But on the flip side, there was usually someone nearby who’d help us get out of a jam before anyone else found out. And for many of us who moved “back home” after school, we’re still hoping nobody remembers who we were during our rebellious high school days!

If you’ve ever managed a team or even been a part of one, you probably know firsthand how challenging it is to get all your people to move together in the right direction at the same time. And although most managers rank employee management as the most important part of their job, they tend to avoid it because it’s also the most challenging aspect of their job. Ironically, managing employees becomes more and more difficult as a result of avoiding this huge challenge from the very start. So let’s be honest with ourselves. When it comes to work, most of us tend to do the jobs that we like to do first and save the jobs we don’t enjoy doing for last. And employee-related issues usually fall to the bottom of the list. Sure, most of the time you have a perfectly good reason for not dealing with employee management issues. The truth is that you’re probably really busy taking care of all the other important jobs you’re responsible for.

Remember the famous sign on President Truman’s desk: “The Buck Stops Here.”? If you’re a leader, you probably already know that the buck stops with you. As an employer or manager, you’re accountable to everyone who depends on the success and viability of your dairy ... your management team, your employees, your customers, your vendors, your lenders, your neighbors and last but certainly not least, yourself and your family.

Chances are that if you take the time to read this, you’ve been entrusted with the responsibility of managing and leading a team. Whether these people refer to you as coach, boss, doctor, professor or parent, your team looks to you for guidance. No, you don’t actually need to work on a football field to be a coach ... all you need is a team. So how can you embrace your role as a coach and excel at developing those you lead? Here’s a list of some of the roles and responsibilities you have as a leader in your organization.

What is potential worth? When you think about potential, it’s amazing how valuable we seem to believe it is. For example, think about many of the purchases and investments you’ve made. It’s easy to calculate how much an investment has returned in the past and how much it’s yielding in the present. But one of the real reasons you choose to take on the risk of a purchase or an investment is due to the potential gains or savings it will deliver in the future. I guess technically we call that a “forecast,” but essentially we’re talking about potential.

I confess ... the older I get, the more cynical I become. Maybe it’s because I truly care about how our elected officials run the government or because I actively participate in the economy. Graduating from college ten years ago, my friends and I had a carefree, “No Regrets” approach to life. Nothing that happened really seemed to affect us, so we weren’t too concerned with what was going on in the “grown-up world.”